Last week, the Biden administration announced “a temporary pause on pending decisions on exports of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to non-FTA countries until the Department of Energy can update the underlying analyses for authorizations.”
With that announcement comes a myriad of consequences, Gulf Bank and Trust President Guy Williams told WWL’s Newell Normand. These include a delay for what is expected to be the nation’s largest LNG export project, the $10 billion Calcasieu plant located in Louisiana.
Williams – who called the decision “so wrong on so many levels,” said the pause will also impact domestic jobs and foreign relations.
“The Europeans are going to look at the U.S. and say: ‘Man, we can’t count on you. You’re just not a reliable partner because you say one thing and then you do another, and your rationale for doing it is actually wrong.’ And that’s… that’s sort of the embarrassing part, too,” he explained. “I mean, if you do something and you have a reason, at least you can understand that. But if you do something and the reason is not even factually correct, it really is embarrassing.”
Back in 2022, the Biden administration pledged to increase LNG supplies to Europe due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Williams said this choice seems to be a reverse of that earlier decision.
According to the Biden-Harris administration, the economic and environmental analyses used by the Department of Energy are five years old and “no longer adequately account for considerations like potential energy cost increases for American consumers and manufacturers beyond current authorizations or the latest assessment of the impact of greenhouse gas emissions.”
It said the decision to pause was based on a desire to guard against health risks, and the White House noted that climate activists praised the move. While the pause is also is subject to exception for national security emergencies, Williams said that isn’t a sufficient solution to addressing LNG needs.
Listen to his full conversation with Normand here.